Episode 1116 - 6 Chefs Compete
The sixteenth episode of Season 11 of Hell's Kitchen aired on Fox, on June 13, 2013. On that episode, one team ended their winning streak in the worst way possible, one chef needed medical attention, and another's luck soon ran out. Intro While going back to the dorms, Zach and Jon welcomed Ja'Nel to the blue team as she was one of the strongest chefs, and the latter felt the red team had no idea what they have done as he felt the blue team would be a freight train with no breaks with her. Then, both Jon and Zach felt they would gel with Ja'Nel, but Jon admitted he almost leaned to keep Anthony as he feared Zach would shut down. Zach disagreed with that, promised Jon that he was not going to shut down, and felt the red team had no chance of winning anything. In the kitchen, Ja'Nel told Jon and Zach she was excited to work with them, but that commented dismayed Cyndi as she wished they kept the former and sent somebody else to the blue team, referring to Susan. Team challenge The next day, the chefs came downstairs where Ramsay praised the red team for their phenomenal run by winning 10 challenges to the blue team’s 1, before announcing that they would compete in their final team challenge, and give the blue team one more chance to finish strong. Before announcing the challenge, Ramsay invited his friends Jon and Owen and explained how the two could perform when the heat was on and work together in perfect sync as they juggle a lot in services, before having Jon and Owen juggle knives and flaming batons to the chef’s concern. As Ramsay explained how chefs must trust each other, Owen and Jon started juggling their items to each other with Ramsay in the center, and Zach knew that one wrong move was the end of the former. However, Ramsay walked past the mess with no scratches and revealed that Jon and Owen were part of the Passing Zone, and after the two left, the former announced the Relay Challenge. Both teams had 30 minutes to cook three entrées from their menu, but only one chef from each team would be allowed in the kitchen for five minutes. After those five minutes, they had 15 seconds to communicate to their teammate. The team with the most accurate dishes were the winners. Cyndi and Zach were called as the first chefs from their respective teams to enter the kitchen, and told the two that the three entrées were roasted chicken, rack of lamb, and halibut. As the challenge began, Cyndi decided to break down the chicken as it needed the most time to cook, before searing off the lamb. While Zach had a million things in his mind, he claimed he was used to working in a mess despite Ja'Nel not seeing anything being done. On the second round, Ja'Nel and Susan entered their respective kitchens, and Zach and Cyndi told them what was going on, although the former left Ja'Nel with nothing fired yet. While Ja'Nel was frustrated by the situation Zach left her as it slowed her down, Susan called it chaos as the ingredients were all over the place. Then, Susan’s pan went on fire until Ramsay put it in the sink, before doing the same to Ja'Nel’s pan. On the third round, Jon and Mary came in, but the former was dismayed that the oven was not completely hot enough, meaning the lamb was fucked. Meanwhile, Mary felt the halibut was in la la land and cold, and Jon accidentally dropped the chicken to the ground after putting out a fire. On the fourth round, Zach and Cyndi were back in, but Jon struggled to get the former to listen to him, and hoped Zach heard something before he left. Fortunately, Zach put a chicken in the pan, but in the red kitchen, Cyndi accidentally left the halibut in the pan for too long and it burned on one side. On the fifth round, Ja'Nel was trying to get all their garnishes fired as five minutes were not enough, but while Susan was trying to get the garnishes ready as well, Cyndi realized she forgot to tell the former to sear the chicken. On the final round, Jon wanted seven minutes instead of five, while Mary was trying to everything her teammates forgot to do, and time was running out. However, while Jon was able to get all the blue team’s dishes plated on time, Mary could not plate the chicken dish, much to her frustration as it reflected on her the most as she was the last red chef in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jon found out the lamb was raw, and was not happy about it. On the first round, Mary and Jon presented the lamb dishes, but the red team’s lamb was a mess due to having bitter and raw kale, and Susan could not believe Mary put up a mess of a dish. For the blue team, the lamb was raw, but the polenta tasted nice. However, since neither dish hit the mark, Ramsay awarded no points to either team. On the roasted chicken round, Ramsay noticed the red team’s empty plate and Susan showed him the chicken on the tray. However, it was dry, leaving Ramsay disappointed that the red team produced something like that in 30 minutes, and called it a fucking disgrace as Cyndi could not look him in the face. As for the blue team, Zach said he cooked the chicken, and not only did it have crispy skin, it was cooked perfectly. So, the blue team scored, and they led 1-0. On the final round, Cyndi presented the red team’s halibut, but Ramsay called it a mess as it looked like it was dropped from the ceiling. In addition to the over sear on one side, it tasted burnt as well, leaving Jon excited at the hope the blue team might have it. For Ja'Nel’s halibut, it was deemed beautifully cooked, and as it was clear she won that round, the blue team claimed victory 2-0. Zach was happy that the blue team finally won. Reward The blue team were rewarded with a helicopter tour of Los Angeles, exciting Jon as he never rode in one before, and a visit to the Gillette Ranch to indulge in $20,000 worth of caviar. All that surprised Jon as he compared it to living life like a Rockstar. When the blue team walked past the red team during their punishment, Ja'Nel boasted that she was a born winner, and during the reward, the blue team took in the views, although Zach was taken aback when Ja'Nel touched his leg. Later, the blue team landed in Gillette Ranch, and were greeted by Christopher Klapp. As they tasted the caviar, all Jon could see was the money from it. Punishment After the blue team left for their reward, a disappointed Ramsay asked the red team if their meltdown of a performance was due to Ja'Nel leaving, but the three women said it was not. The red team were punished by taking in deliveries of potatoes and onions, prep them for the Los Angeles Mission, and prep both kitchens for that night’s service. During the punishment, Mary was disappointed in herself as she was so much better than how she performed in the challenge, and why she could not work faster, harder, or think faster like Ramsay did. As the red team opened the truck, piles of potatoes and onions fell out, and Susan admitted that the red team were not used to the feeling of losing a challenge. Later, as the red team continued to bring the boxes into the pantry room, Cyndi started growing short of breath, which Mary took notice of before leaving to get some water for her. After seeing Cyndi like that, Sous Chef Andi called the medic over, and Susan grew worried for the former. Cyndi told the medic that her chest was tightening up and feared she would leave the competition. Fortunately, Cyndi recovered enough to join Susan and Mary again despite being lightheaded, and refused to leave from an asthma attack during her second punishment. As the red team peeled potatoes, Mary complained she was going to have nightmares over the sound, while Cyndi claimed she bought hers already peeled. Before service Later that day, the blue team came back from their reward, Ja'Nel bragged about it to her former teammates, and Jon was happy he missed the punishment after seeing the red team’s work. As both teams began prepping for service, Jon warned Ja'Nel that the blue team’s biggest problem was shutting down in services, mostly referring to Zach. When Zach made a snide comment about that, Jon and Ja'Nel exchanged a look that said they had to look out for the former. In the red kitchen, Cyndi was still not feeling well, called it the toughest service yet due to her exhaustion, but said she would still be working and reassured her teammates she can do it. However, Susan was more concerned about their legacy dying if they could not perform strongly as they did before. After prep, Ramsay had both teams lined up, and announced that it would be the final service for the team phase as the following day, the five remaining chefs would become black jackets. After telling the chefs to prove why they deserved one, Ramsay asked Jean-Philippe to open Hell’s Kitchen. Dinner service The blue team received their first order, but Zach did not respond to Ramsay’s order to put the Wellington into the oven until the second time, even after he felt the top three chefs in the competition were in the blue kitchen and claimed they would kick the red team’s ass. As Ja'Nel worked on appetizers, she called herself a workhorse for working smart and hard, before believing she could lead the blue team to victory. Ja'Nel and Jon got their appetizers accepted, but when Ramsay asked Zach how many Wellingtons he had cooking, the latter was about to make a long speech until Ramsay ordered him to cut the shit. Then, Zach said he had six cooking like the order said, but while Ramsay warned him he would go after him if he smelled shit, the former thought he smelled great like exotic fragrances. In the red kitchen, Susan’s risotto was accepted, and she said it was game on as it felt good pulling through. In the blue kitchen, Jon and Ja'Nel continued to keep pace on appetizers, but Zach was burning his lamb while trying to sear them. Despite Zach arguing he was not shutting down, Jon knew that the spotlight was more clearer now that there were only three people in the kitchen. As Jon and Ja'Nel continue to work together, Ramsay asked Susan for her risotto and capellini, and the latter sent them up. That made Cyndi confident about their chances on entrées, but she was caught cooking the sea bass and Ramsay reminded her not to cook them until appetizers were complete. When Ramsay asked Mary why Cyndi was doing that, the former said she did not know why and told the latter to hold off. One hour into dinner service, Ja'Nel’s leadership allowed the blue team to complete appetizers and move onto entrées, while in the red kitchen, they were on their final order on appetizers, waiting on Cyndi’s lobster tail for the risotto. However, Cyndi sent up overcooked lobster tail, Ramsay tossed it, had it ricochet of the wall, and Susan said they could not make stupid mistakes when black jackets were on the line. While Mary tried to help Cyndi on the refire, it came out raw that time, leading Ramsay to bring the red team into the pantry room, which Mary knew was not a good thing. Ramsay warned Cyndi that she was screwing the red team’s standards, and told her to slow standard and increase the standards. Calling it a swift kick in the ass, Cyndi got her third attempt accepted and refused to give up. In the blue kitchen, Zach did not respond to Ramsay’s questing for the entrées, much to Jon’s frustration as he wanted to shake the former, and Zach did not respond to Ja'Nel’s request to walk the lamb, leaving her to wonder if he was focused, in the zone, or shitting his pants. Despite that, the meat was cooked perfectly, but on their next order, Zach once again did not speak up, leading Ramsay to yell he did not want a stop and start anymore. In the red kitchen, they were moving onto entrées, and Cyndi’s sea bass was accepted. Two hours into service, Zach was slow bringing up his meat, but told Ramsay to relax as nobody else could cook meat like himself. However, Zach’s lamb was overcooked, Ramsay angrily asked if that was his best, and the former walked away to get another lamb. Further infuriated, Ramsay warned Zach that if he could not give him his best, he was history. Fortunately, the refire was accepted, and as both teams completed their final ticket, Susan felt the red team ended service on a high note, especially with her contributions that night, while Jon thanked Ja'Nel for her help. Post-mortem When both teams were lined up, Ramsay complimented them on a job well done as, while it was not perfect, it was not bad either and was more than happy to see them fight back. However, while both teams were named joint winners, Ramsay announced he was giving out four black jackets instead of the five he originally promised, and asked both teams to name one nominee each, basing it on everything so far. During deliberation, Mary said that it sucked due to having three red chefs left, but Susan felt she deserved extra credit for growing more. However, Mary retorted that she also grew the most, especially since she was nominated five times before, but Cyndi knew Ramsay was looking for an MVP, not the most improved. Then, Cyndi said despite her hiccups, she was the strongest chef, but Susan could not see her like that anymore based on the mistakes the former made. However, Cyndi claimed that if it was not her herself, Mary and Susan would have been long gone, but Mary nominated her as she expected a lot more based on her experience. However, Cyndi argued that she could open a restaurant if she left, while Mary could barely work a line. Meanwhile, Jon told Ja'Nel that there was no way she was going up based on what he saw that day, before stating that Zach was his obvious choice. While Zach argued that he fought back and saved the day with the chicken Jon dropped on the floor, he called it ridiculous that he was still being nominated. When asked who she wanted to nominated, Ja'Nel admitted that Zach kicked ass in challenges in the beginning, and Jon has been kicking ass in the recent challenges, but while she called Zach a weak chef, Jon was her biggest competition and felt it be smart to get the latter nominated. Elimination Ja'Nel announced Zach as the blue team’s nominee, but when Cyndi announced herself as the red team’s nominee, Ramsay questioned that decision, and asked her who she felt the weakest chef was. Cyndi believed Mary was, but when Ramsay asked the latter about the thought process, Mary admitted she misunderstood the explanation and deemed Susan as the weakest chef. However, Susan believed Cyndi was the weakest chef, and with a three-way tie, Ramsay asked Ja'Nel who the weakest chef on the red team was. Ja'Nel said Susan, and Ramsay called the latter and Zach down to the front. During their pleas, Zach felt he supported the team, but when asked if he deserved another chance, he believed he did. Then, Susan felt she could operate under pressure and could run a team, but Ramsay reminded her that the women felt she was the weakest chef. In the end, Zach was eliminated for his mediocre performance on meat, declining performances, and running out of chances. During his exit interview, Zach said he would continue his culinary dream, and hoped that Ramsay would call him for a job opportunity. After Zach left, Ramsay told Susan that she has come a long way and should be proud of what she accomplished, but while she might have a strong future when she left, it would not be tonight before sending her back in line. Then, Ramsay warned the chefs that everything they do now was critical because the end was in sight, before telling them that there was one more thing they had to do before he could give out black jackets. While being dismissed, Susan felt Ramsay changed his mind as he could not see her go home, and rather win Hell’s Kitchen alone without an alliance. Then, Jon knew it was himself and four women left, and said he put everything on the table everyday before proclaiming it was time to up the ante. Ramsay's comment: "There once was a chef named Zach, for words he didn't lack. But in the kitchen, he was no magician, and he won't be coming back." Category:Episodes Category:Season 11